A novel of doubles, shadow worlds, and fractured timelines as a man disappears from a glittering Los Angeles party, and a woman—a gunrunner, an art collector, an operative of the State—searches for answers.
The plot here, like the plots in the previous three Mandel novels I've read, is ingenious, eerie and complex; but not so complex it dampens curiosity ... Mandel knows she doesn't have to belabor her topical social commentary: It's of an unsettling piece with everything else that's packed into the three parts of this capacious novel ... Also unexpectedly veers into an action-escape adventure ... Weird and arresting.
Ambitious and captivating ... Crafting memorable characters is always a challenge, and Mandel doubles the task for herself with her two timelines. Even so, she succeeds ... feels like the culmination of her career so far, combining the thrills and mysteries of the author’s early crime novels with the expansive premises and speculative ruminations of later novels like Station Eleven.
Terrific ... Puzzling it out as it unfolds is one of its many pleasures ... The story deepens and expands in unexpected ways, across generations, into marriages, betrayals and rare acts of decency. In the world of Exit Party, through all of its tragic turns, we find Mandel at her best.
